The Official Blog of Minnesota PGA

Golf Tip: When your ball is against the collar

Putting from the collar

One of a golfer’s worst nightmares it’s walking to up your ball that he thought was on the green, only to discover that it is instead resting tightly up against the collar. A golfer has a couple of options when approaching this kind of shot.

1. If you’re dead-set on using your putter, the biggest problem is that when you pull the putter back, it tends to get stuck in the long grass. To avoid this problem, lean your body slightly by tilting your shoulders forward so that your takeaway has a steeper angle, coming up away from the ball and coming through the ball with a more downward stroke.

2. Probably the easiest option is to take your sandwedge and use a putting stroke, making contact with the ball above the equator of the ball. Although this may feel like you’re intentionally topping the ball, using this stroke will keep the ball close to the green and improve your accuracy.

Minnesota PGA Professional Steve Fessler demonstrates both of these techniques in the video below.

The Minnesota Section PGA consists of PGA Professionals who are experts in the game and business of golf. Our mission is to promote the enjoyment and involvement of the game of golf and to contribute to its growth by providing services to golf professionals, the golf industry, people who play golf or would like to start playing golf.PGA Section Offices oversee the 41 geographic regions throughout the United States and provide the grass-roots network for the nation’s 25 million amateur golfers and with the PGA’s 27,000 members. www.minnesotapga.com.